Air-supported hall with a window

ABSTRACT

The air dome includes one or several membrane shells made from plastic film material. It has on at least one longitudinal or transverse side a frame construction which is connected to the bordering membrane material, and in the frame profile at least one transparent film is incorporated, for forming a window front. The air dome includes one or several membrane shells made of plastic film. The membranes are formed as double-ply membranes with an outer and inner membrane and divided into strips. The strips can be connected along their longitudinal edges by means of a keder having a keder connection profile in a force-locked manner. Surface heat-reflective mats can have multiple layers of absorption-reducing air bubble film to reduce the transmission heat losses. The construction of such a constructed air dome can be handled by two people as well as the dismantling and the transporting and interim storage.

Air domes offer compelling advantages for various applications, for example as roofing for outdoor pools, as tennis halls, warehouses, commercial halls and temporary halls for events of all kinds. They consist of a dome-shaped cover from a textile-reinforced plastic membrane, which is anchored to the ground at its edges and sealed there against the spanned interior. Using air blowers, an overpressure compared to the atmosphere is generated inside which inflates the membrane and holds it stable in this position. For this, only a small and not noticeable pressure difference to the atmosphere is necessary, because only the membrane weight and any wind and snow loads have to be carried. This usually corresponds to a load of approx. 25 to 35 kg/m². To prevent air from escaping when entering or leaving the air dome, the entrances are designed with sealing 4-leaf revolving doors or pass-throughs. One distinguishes between single- and multi-layer membrane shells, wherein each layer adopts a particular function. The outer shell usually consists of a fabric-reinforced plastic membrane of the highest quality, usually light-transmissive. The outer shell is the actual static membrane, which has to bears wind and snow loads and is impregnated against UV radiation and soiling. The single- to multi-ply intermediate layers having enclosed air pockets are incorporated primarily as insulating layers. They are to improve the heat transition coefficient of the hall in direction of the insulation. The innermost membrane forms the end of the two- to multi-ply air covers. It is executed in white for light reflection. For tennis halls, a darker color (e.g. green or blue) is usually chosen up to a height of at least 3 m, so that the tennis balls are more easily recognizable to the tennis players. As so-called flying constructions or movables, air domes are subject to a special DIN standard. In contrast to a fixed structure, they can readily be dismantled and set up elsewhere if required.

A serious disadvantage of such air domes is the generally poor heat insulation and thus a high energy expenditure for heating. The Swiss Conference of Cantonal Energy Authorities therefore drew up a recommendation EN-8 regarding heated air domes (December 2007) with the following statements: Existing sports facilities such as open-air baths or tennis courts can be covered from autumn to spring with a relatively inexpensive “mobile” air dome so that they can be used all year round. Structures having membrane roofs have a high energy consumption, which is why these recommendations were developed for such structures. In the following, the air domes for open-air baths will be discussed in more detail, as the higher heat requirement is more important for these than for covered tennis courts. An air dome made from film material for the roofing of a swimming pool with a length of 58 m and a width of 28 m cost, for example in Schaffhausen, Switzerland, approximately 0.5 million Swiss francs. The heating costs account for approx. ⅙ of the construction costs, i.e. they amounted to 81,000 Swiss francs for the winter 2004/2005 and 86,000 Swiss francs for the winter 2005/2006. With a 2×2-layer membrane, it should be possible to reduce the heat requirement, and thus the costs for natural gas, by approx. 30%.

As early as March 1993, the Swiss Federal Office of Energy (SFOE) published the brochure “Rational energy use in indoor swimming pools” with the following figures relating to cubic volume and EBF, indicating the consumption values for 1993 for renovated and newly constructed pools with conventional, solid building cover. These values include the sum of heat (usually fossil fuels) and electricity (including water preparation, ventilation, lighting, changing room ventilation, . . . ) required for these buildings.

1993 renovated baths 1993 build baths Bath Water surface (m²) (MJ/m²a) (MJ/m²a) Small 200-300 1,300 1,100 Medium Approx. 00 1,100 900 Large More than 1,000 1,000 800

For new buildings, the ratio of heat to electricity is about 1:1. For example, the indoor swimming pool reconstructed in 1988 in Uster, Switzerland, shows the following summands:

E _(heat) 479 MJ/m²a+E _(electricity) 587 MJ/m²a=E _(total) 1,066 MJ/m²a

Since 1993, the most important change has been the SIA 380/1 standard (2001 edition), which introduced a separate “Indoor swimming pools” category, taking into account the high internal temperature of 28° C. For an individual building component statement, the requirements were U_(roof,wall)=0.18 W/m²K and U_(windows)=1.0 W/m²K (climate Zurich, without consideration of the maximum share, MuKEn Module 2). Newer consumption figures are not available. Today it can be assumed that the consumption figures for new baths can be more than halved. The parameters for heat and electricity are to be shown separately and not —as in the above table —added in unweighted manner.

An energetic consideration for open-air baths with air dome roofing is shown in the following: A decisive structural part is the film of the air dome. With today's state-of-the-art technology, the roof can be constructed with 2×2 membranes, which results in a U-value of about 1.1 W/m²K. There are also 3- or only 2-layer membrane roofs with a significantly lower U-value (3-layer approx. 1.9 W/m²K). For the covering of a swimming pool, the additional price for the best construction is definitely reasonable in view of the high follow-up costs due to the energy consumption. In contrast, a certain transmissivity of the film to solar radiation is to be rated positively. The total energy transfer ratio amounts to approximately 0.1 (0.07 to 0.2). It also has to be taken into account that the structural parts in the ground also cause heat dissipation. For an indoor swimming pool, these structural parts are well heat-insulated. If an existing open-air bath is covered only for the winter, these components are rarely insulated. To reduce heat losses into the earth, a perimeter insulation approx. 1 m deep has to be integrated into the concrete foundation 23 between the two anchors of the membrane. This allows the heat flow into the ground to be reduced (calculation see standard EN 13370).

In the following, a comparison of the heat requirement for different film structures for the roofing of an outdoor swimming pool in Schaffhausen, Switzerland, having a total energy transfer ratio of 0.1 is stated:

Film size 64 m × 30 m 2-layer film 3-layer film 2 × 2-layer U = U = film U = 2.7 W/m²K 2.7 W/m²K 2.7 W/m²K Heat requirement film 2,500 MJ/m²a 2,000 MJ/m²a 1,500 MJ/m²a cover Pure heat demand at 200 kW 140 kW 80 kW temperatures of outside −8° C. and inside +28° C. (without ventilation)

As a result this means that even with a 3-layer membrane (U-value approx. 1.9 W/m²K), the energy demand amounts to about 2,000 MJ/m²a. This consumption is about four times higher than for a medium-sized indoor swimming pool built in 1993. Therefore, the applicable requirements as to thermal insulation according to SIA 38011 (2001 edition) of approx. 300 MJ/m²a for a conventional air dome cannot be met by a factor of 5 to 6. (Calculations: Ingenieurburo R. Mader, Schaffhausen, Switzerland, on behalf of the EnFK.) The operating experience of the bath in Schaffhausen confirms these high consumption values, as shown by the evaluation of the consumption data 2004 to 2006 by Ingenieurburo Mader.

For sports halls with lower ambient temperature requirements, a comparison of annual costs was prepared for a typical hall measuring 35 m×35 m. This shows that the additional costs for a 2×2-layer membrane can usually be amortized even at the lower indoor temperatures with the lower heat costs alone, as shown in the following table for a tennis hall of 35 m×35 m having 2 courts:

Film size 40 m × 40 m 2-layer film 3-layer film 2 × 2-layer U = U = film U = 2.8 W/m²K 1.70 W/m²K 1.10 W/m²K Heat requirement film 570 MJ/m²a 330 MJ/m²a 200 MJ/m²a cover Mere heat demand at 110 kW 70 kW 50 kW temperatures of outside −8° C. and inside +16° C. (without ventilation) In summary, it can be stated that sports facilities currently covered with air domes cannot meet the requirements for thermal insulation of the building cover. In particular, the roofing of an open-air bath having an air dome leads to a very high energy consumption, which is more than four to five times higher than for a “normal” indoor swimming pool.

The object of the present invention is to flood such an air dome at least partially with daylight in order to create an ambiance, and atmospheric and visible connection to the outside world inside the air dome. A further object of the invention is to improve the acoustics within the air dome and thus provide a more pleasant atmosphere. Yet a further object is to specify such an air dome having daylight inside, which can be erected more quickly and with far less personnel than hitherto, and which, if necessary, can be dismantled just as quickly and easily, and is easy to transport and put into interim storage. And finally it is an object of the invention to specify such an air dome having considerably better thermal insulation and can thus meet the applicable requirements for the heat insulation of a building cover. The fourth object of this invention is to improve the acoustics within the air dome and thus provide a more pleasant atmosphere.

This object is achieved by an air dome having one or several membrane shells from plastic film material, characterized in that it has on at least one longitudinal or transverse side a frame construction which is connected to the bordering membrane material, and in the frame profile at least one transparent or translucent film or a firm or bendable plate is incorporated, for forming a window front.

The drawings show embodiment example for such air domes and they are described hereinafter on the basis of these figures, their construction is outlined and their effect is explained.

There are shown:

FIG. 1: An strip foundation insulated on the inside, made from concrete with a cast-in connecting profile as anchor rail;

FIG. 2: A membrane strip of the membrane to be constructed extending from one side of the hall to the other;

FIG. 3: A cut along line A-A in FIG. 2 for showing how two membrane strips are connected to each other along their length to a profile on the outside;

FIG. 4: A cut along line A-A in FIG. 2 for showing how two membrane strips are connected to each other along their length to a profile on the inside;

FIG. 5: The end section of a membrane strip reaching the ground represented in a longitudinal section;

FIG. 6: The overlap of two membrane strips along their longitudinal edges;

FIG. 7: The constructing of a hall by means of juxtaposed membrane strips with their longitudinal edges interconnected by means of each a keder and an associated connecting profile, schematically represented;

FIG. 8: A connecting profile for two keders running along the longitudinal edge of a film web;

FIG. 9: The heat-sealing of a keder into the edge region of a membrane strip;

FIG. 10: The connecting of a keder, which is encompassed by a film portion, by heat-sealing this section at the edge of the membrane strip;

FIG. 11: The connecting of two membrane strips with each a keder along their longitudinal edge by means of a connecting profile according to FIG. 8;

FIG. 12: The connecting of two membrane webs along their longitudinal edges, fastened by means of a connecting profile and a single keder, to only one of the two membrane edges;

FIG. 13: An air dome in cross section, with film webs running transversely to the viewing direction and the connecting profiles for the keder for connecting two adjacent film webs;

FIG. 14: Two 2-ply membrane webs to be interconnected upon inserting a heat-reflective mat;

FIG. 15: The inserting of a heat-reflective mat into a 2-ply membrane web represented in magnified form, and the neighboring 2-layer membrane web having a connecting profile to be pushed over the two keders;

FIG. 16: The one front side of an air dome, that is, running along the tennis court, as an air-supported tennis hall for two tennis courts, in a vertical plan;

FIG. 17: The front wall construction with the inserted film web before the subsequent inflation of the air dome;

FIG. 18: A longitudinal view of the air dome after the inflating has been effected;

FIG. 19: This air dome according to FIGS. 16 to 18 seen in a floor plan, with the court lines of the two tennis courts on its floor;

FIG. 20: An air dome for three tennis courts in a front view;

FIG. 21: The floor plan of the air dome according to FIG. 20, with three tennis courts drawn in on its ground;

FIG. 22: The one front side or back side of an air dome, that is, running along the longitudinal side of the tennis courts, following the same construction principle, in vertical plan;

FIG. 23: An air dome for three tennis courts represented in a bird's eye view;

FIG. 24: The floor plan of a further embodiment of a tennis air dome, for two tennis courts;

FIG. 25: The longitudinal side of this air dome according to FIGS. 16 to 19, that is, running along the head sides of the tennis courts, with a window front 3.5 meter high from the ground, represented in vertical plan, with tennis nets drawn in;

FIG. 26: This air dome according to FIGS. 16 to 19 in a view toward one of its front sides which run along the longitudinal sides of the tennis courts, with windows;

FIG. 27: A perspective view of this air dome with windows, as seen over two tennis courts;

FIG. 28: A perspective view from the inside of this air dome, as seen outwardly across a tennis court, toward a corner.

In conventional air domes, the membrane to be supported by means of air pressure is firmly and airtightly interconnected by heat-sealing, from several membrane strips overlapping at the edge to form a 2- to 3-part membrane. The 2 to 3 membrane parts are screwed together by means of clamping plates. The screwed-together membrane is then connected with its edge all around with foundations or ground anchors. This membrane of a conventional air dome thus forms a continuous, smooth surface inside and outside, and it is not possible to attach anything to it on the inside, except by means of a bonding. This also makes the applying of conventional thermal insulation impossible.

The air domes according to the invention have in all embodiments a very special equipment for retaining its heat inside the air dome. Their films or membranes are provided with a heat-reflective material for thermal building insulation. For this purpose, this heat-reflective material is inserted in the form of mats, which are cut from a roll, on the inside of the membrane, for example in flat pockets arranged like a matrix, which are heat-sealed onto the membrane. After the heat-reflective mats have been inserted, the pockets are closed, for example by means of a Velcro fastener or a zip fastener. Thereby the entire membrane is covered by these heat-reflective mats which are hidden in the pockets.

Advantageously, the membranes are at the same time constructed in a novel way in comparison to that of the conventional air domes, namely from several membrane strips which are linked together along their longitudinal sides by means of keders and keder connecting profiles into a complete membrane. Firstly, this is faster, requires far less personnel and offers the advantage that the membrane can again be easily dismantled, so that the air dome can be dismantled, moved and reassembled elsewhere much more easily. The individual film webs are equipped with special pockets for insertion, as will be shown and explained later.

For constructing such an air dome, only a strip foundation 23 from concrete is erected around the hall, into which a keder connecting profile 1 as anchor rail 22 is either cast or screwed on, as shown in FIG. 1. The membrane strips 8 reaching down to the ground are inserted with their end-side keders 5 into these connecting profiles 1 or anchor rails 22, so that a force-locking and airtight connection is created. The individual membrane strips 8 are connected with each other along their longitudinal edges, which are also equipped with keders, by means of several connecting profiles, so that a complete membrane is formed, which consists of a number of such mutually adjoining membrane strips 8. By means of one or several fans, a low overpressure compared to the atmosphere is generated. Due to this overpressure, the membrane rises upward and is inflated and kept stable in this position due to the low overpressure.

In FIG. 2 an individual membrane strip 8 is represented, in a position as if it were installed in a hall membrane. Thus it extends from the ground over the zenith of the hall to the ground on the other side. It therefore measures, for example, 42 meters in length if it is to span a tennis court lengthwise. Its width measures approx. 3 to 5 meters, depending on the implementation. It is executed two-ply and thereby forms a pocket. Into this bag a heat-reflective mat is inserted such as will be described later. Such mats are roll material, which is available in widths of 2.5 meters, for example, having a thickness of approx. 25 mm. A strip of 2.5 m×42 m length can be inserted into the pocket of a membrane strip, or two such heat-reflective mats overlapping slightly along their longitudinal edge can be inserted in the pocket of said membrane strip over its entire length. For this purpose, the two-ply membrane strip is heat-sealed on three sides, and one longitudinal side is initially left open so that a pocket is formed. This allows the inserting of a strip of heat-reflective film over the entire length of the membrane strip. Afterwards, the opening of the pocket in the membrane strip is heat-sealed, so that the membrane strip is tightly sealed all around, and then several membrane strips are joined together by means of connecting profiles with the keders present along their edges.

FIG. 3 shows a cross-section at position A-A of the membrane strips 8, from which one recognizes that an overlap of the two strips 8 is produced along their longitudinal edge, so that always a heat-reflective film extends continuously over the assembled membrane strips between the inner side and the outer side. FIG. 3 shows that a keder 5 having a film section 6 is heat-sealed onto the membrane strip 8, here on the left. The membrane strip 8 on the right rests with its longitudinal edge over the longitudinal edge of the left membrane strip 8. Its edge ends in a section 7, which is guided over the keder 5 and around it. Afterwards, a connecting profile 1 is pushed over the keder 5, thus creating a force-locked connection transversely between these two membrane strips 8. On the inside of the two membrane strips 8 one can recognize the heat-reflective mats 13. These mutually overlap slightly, although they are inserted in different pockets. However, this creates a continuous heat-reflective layer across the connection of the two membrane strips 8 and the forming of a cold bridge or heat bridge is thus prevented. The membrane strip 8 directly forms the outer membrane, made from a material as conventionally used for the requirements of an outer membrane, and weighs about 1 kg/m², and the inner membrane could in principle be made thinner. However, because it lies on the ground during the construction of the hall, it has to be at least sufficiently tear-resistant, with a weight of approx. 500 to 600 gram/m². It is impregnated to prevent the formation of fungi and mold, and both membranes are also impregnated for dirt repellence, as is already conventional practice. Between these two membranes a pocket is formed for the heat-reflective mat 13.

FIG. 4 basically shows the same thing, except that the keder is directed downward, i.e. toward the interior of the hall, and the connecting profiles are attached to the underside of the inner membrane. These profiles can be specially designed with a groove on their lower side, in which, for example, lighting fixtures, nets, partitions, curtains etc. can be suspended. Advantageously, the inner membranes are perforated, whereby an efficient sound insulation is achieved. The sound, as it is generated in tennis halls by hitting the balls, or the sound in swimming pools where it is regularly loud, is effectively refracted on the perforated inner membrane and a far more pleasant sound climate is achieved.

FIG. 5 shows the section along the line B-B in FIG. 2. The two-ply membrane strip 8 is joined at the lower section directed toward the ground and thus ends in a flat flap 24. This is then folded down on the inside of the hall and rests on the floor. One recognizes on the outer side of the outside membrane 8 a keder 5 heat-sealed thereupon. This serves for connecting to the ground. It is inserted into a profile which forms an anchor rail on a strip foundation.

FIG. 6 shows an overlap in perspective representation. The membrane strip 8, on the left in the picture, overlaps the membrane strip 8, on the right side of the picture. This right membrane strip ends in a single-layer film, which is guided over the keder 5 and covers it fully and extends slightly further beyond the keder 5. Thus prepared, a connecting profile can be pushed over the keder 5.

FIG. 7 shows a schematic representation of a number of membrane strips 8, which are arranged next to each other. In a tennis hall, for example, they extend advantageously along the tennis courts and thus span these transversely to the direction of the tennis nets on the playing courts.

In the following, the constructing of a membrane from detachable, joinable film webs is outlined in an alternative execution. For this purpose, first a possible keder connecting profile 1 is shown in FIG. 8. This is formed by an extruded aluminum profile, which forms a groove 4 at each of its two longitudinal sides as a keder mount 2. In the example shown, each such keder mount 2 is formed by a pipe, which has a longitudinal slot or a groove 4, so that the pipe circumference extends by only approx. 270°. The two openings or grooves 4 in the two keder mounts 2 face away from each other and the two pipes are connected with each other integrally by a connecting bridge 3. For the connection of two membrane strips 8, such connecting profiles 1 of approx. 30 cm to 50 cm length each are used.

The film webs 8 having their pocket 12, which can be connected with such connecting profiles 1, are equipped along their longitudinal edges with keders 5. For this purpose, these keders 5 for example, as shown in FIG. 9, are designed as one-piece circular plastic profiles with a radially protruding extension 6. A two-ply film 8 is unstitched along its edge into two flaps 7, which enclose the extension 6 from both sides and are firmly heat-sealed to it. Thereby a force-locked connection is created between the keder 5 and the film web 8. The edge of a film web 8 can also be heat-sealed onto the only one side of the extension 6, wherein the introduction of force is then not completely symmetrical.

Alternatively, a circular rubber profile 11 can be used as a keder 5, which is surrounded by a film 10, wherein the film 10 then ends in two edge sections 9, as shown in FIG. 10. These two edge sections 9 can receive on both sides a film web 8 having their pocket 12 along its longitudinal edge between them, and they are firmly attached to the film web 8 on both sides by heat-sealing to the edge region of the film web 8. In this way too a force-locked connection is generated transversely to the keder 5.

FIG. 11 shows a possibility of a connection of two adjacent film webs 8, whose longitudinal edges are each equipped with a keder 5. The connecting profiles 1 are pushed one by one over their keder 5 in the longitudinal direction to the film webs 8. The slots created between the individual successive connecting profiles 1 allow a curvature of a thus created membrane also by a relatively small radius. The slots between the successive connecting profiles 1 can be closed with an elastic sealing compound. Ideally, the longest possible connecting profile sections are used. For greater lengths of several meters, depending on the wall thickness of the profiles, they are bendable by a radius that allows an entire membrane dome to be created from one side to the other with only a few profile sections. Such a film web 8 of a tennis hall, which spans the courts in the longitudinal direction, is approx. 42 m long. For this, a few easily transportable connecting profile sections are sufficient, for example 3×14 m long sections, or 4×10.5 m or 6×7 m long sections.

FIG. 12 shows an alternative possibility of connecting two adjacent film webs 8. Here, only the film web 8, on the left in the picture, is equipped with a keder 5. The film web 8 on the right is wrapped around the keder 5 of the other film web 8 and afterward a connecting profile 1 is pushed over the keder standing upright by 90°, as shown. This encompasses the keder 5 by more than approx. 270° and effectuates a force-locked connection of the two film webs 8 transversely to the keder 5. The individual connecting profiles 1 measure, for example, approx. 30 to 50 cm and can therefore be pushed on by a single assembler. Electively, longer profile sections can also be used, up to a maximally transportable length.

FIG. 13 shows a cross-section of a tennis hall. The film webs 8 run transversely to the viewing direction and extend upward from the ground, over the zenith of the ridge to the other side and from there back to the ground. The connecting profiles 1 are pushed one by one over their keder 5 in the longitudinal direction to the film webs. The slots created between the individual successive connecting profiles 1 allow a curvature of the membrane also by a relatively small radius. These slots can be closed with an elastic sealing compound.

FIG. 14 shows two film webs 8 which are connected with connecting profiles 1. The film webs 8 are conventional textile-reinforced plastic films, ideally from 3 to 5 meters wide. They can be delivered to the construction site in rolls, in lengths of 42 m, for example, to form an entire dome length from one piece. If they are delivered in shorter sections, they can be force-lockingly and tightly heat-sealed together in a conventional way at the construction site by a slight overlap of a few centimeters in order to achieve the necessary length. These film webs 8 are now equipped with pockets 12 as a special feature. These pockets 12 extend over the width of the film webs 8 between the keders 5, i.e. they are approximately 3 m to 5 m wide, and they are slightly broader than 1.5 m to 2.5 m, so that after inserting a mat 1.5 m or 2.5 m wide, an edge is formed, which remains free and can be fitted on the open side of the pockets with Velcro fasteners on the inside. At the bottom and sides, the pockets are firmly heat-sealed to the film web 8 or riveted or bonded onto the same. Heat-reflective mats 13 of the same dimension are inserted into these pockets, i.e. mats 1.5 m to 2.5 m wide and 3 m to 5 m long. Of course, the pockets 12 and the heat-reflective mats 13 to be inserted into them can also be made smaller.

These heat-reflective mats are, for example, known as Lu.po.Therm B2+8 and are available from LSP GmbH, Gewerbering 1, A-5144 Handenberg, Austria. They are supplied, inter alia, in rolls of 1.5 m or 2.5 m width and can be cut from these rolls into sections 13, thus in this case to the respective width of the film webs 8, while the depth of the pockets 12 is adapted to the width of the rolls. These multi-ply heat-reflective mats are available in executions of up to 12 cm thick. While thermal insulation materials such as mineral wool, polystyrene, polyurethane, cellulose, wood wool, hemp or others can insulate only with a λ>0.026 W/mK, for such materials the fact is disregarded that the radiant heat relative to the temperature makes up a much larger proportion of the heat loss, more than 90%, because there holds T⁴=W/m². The higher the temperature is, the more dramatic the proportion of heat radiation that ultimately leads to heat loss. If the heat-reflective mat is executed as multi-ply, the heat insulation is achieved in a cascade manner by a large number of cumulative interactions. Thus these heat-reflective materials attain nearly 100% reflection of the incoming radiant heat. For the most part, this is reflected back into the interior of the air dome. Conversely, the heat radiation of the sun in the summer is reflected and the interior of the air dome remains pleasantly cool, which is particularly welcome for playing tennis. The technical specifications of these heat-reflective mats are as follows:

Harmonized technical Technical features Performance specifications Thermal insulation U = 0.10 W/m² K Emissivity from 2.2.6 ETA-12/0080, performance WLZ (Lambda) = 0.003 W/mk valid until 25 Jul. 2017 R = 10 m² K/W Vapor barrier = 1st layer S_(d) = 1500 m EN 12086 + EN 13984 Diffusion-open as of 2nd layer S_(d) = 10 m DIN 52615 Fire behavior Class E EN-13501-1 + A1 Infrared reflections 84%, 95%, 95%, 95% + 82% CUAP 12.01/12, Annex B + C Electro-smog shielding HF 40 dB = 99.99% Near-field probe calibrated

For a tennis hall, these heat-reflective mats are preferably installed in an execution 3 cm thick. They are heat-sealed all around, for fixing only, i.e. not tightly and firmly. A raster perforation having T-end threads results in the diffusion-open outer side. Thereby the dew point degassing is already incorporated. As a product, for example, Lu.Po Therm B2+8 heat insulation is suitable or any other mat with similar technical and mechanical properties in the field of heat reflection. Lu.Po Therm B2+8 is well suitable because it is thin, easy to bend and flexible. Because these heat-reflective mats are highly flexible, their insertion is no problem even for corners and contours. They are not hygroscopic and therefore offer a consistent reflection effect. Preferably, such an air dome is constructed with a double-shelled membrane with a heat-reflective material insert for thermal building insulation in pockets 12 on the inside of the inner membrane. As a heat-reflective mat, advantageously a multi-ply hybrid insulation mat having integrated energy-efficient IR-reflecting aluminum foils is used. Two to eight plies of absorption-reducing air cushion films yield the convective distances by the air enclosed in the nubs and thus an optimum convective effect. This reduces the transmission heat losses. The heat-reflective mats 13 contain up to five plies of metallized film for highly effective infrared reflection, with low self-emission. In addition, there is a highly effective shielding against high-frequency rays, waves and fields.

The fact that the heat-reflective mats to be inserted are very light —with a specific weight of only 0.430 kg/m²—is also attractive from a constructional point of view. For an air dome for three tennis courts having a membrane area of 2,324 m² this yields an additional load of altogether 999.32 kg, thus approx. 1 metric ton. Compared to the snow loads to be carried and the dead weight of the films, this is almost negligible.

FIG. 15 shows a film web 8 having an single pocket 12. Into this, a heat-reflective mat 13 is inserted on the open side, so that it fills the pocket 12 over the full area. The opening of the pockets 12 can be equipped with Velcro fasteners 14, so that the pockets 12 can be closed after inserting the heat-reflective mats 13. Instead of Velcro fasteners 14, zip fasteners can also be used. On a film web 8, the pockets 12 are arranged mutually adjacent or in a matrixed manner with several rows of pockets. Each one is thus equipped with a heat-reflective mat 13.

The air domes that are equipped with such special heat-reflective mats 13, which then cover practically the entire membrane area inside or outside in pockets 12, produce a far better air-supported overall U-value than hitherto, namely less than 1.0 W/m²K. In addition to the heat-reflective mats 13, special acoustic membranes can also be used as inner membranes, which are also inserted into the pockets 12. This allows the hall acoustics to be adapted to different floors and adapted such that it is perceived as pleasant. The internal membrane perforated for this purpose refracts in this case the noise in the hall. For tennis halls, the impact noises are largely absorbed. The result is a much more pleasant acoustics in indoor tennis halls than hitherto.

The individual film webs 8 can be connected in a force-locked manner along their longitudinal edges by means of connecting profiles 1 and their keder 5 until the entire membrane is assembled in this way at the construction site and lies on the ground. In doing so, the connecting profiles as shown in FIG. 8 can be arranged on the inner or on the outer side of the membrane. The outer edges of the created membrane are then tightly connected to the ground or window frames. In any case, if the film webs 8 are in this way connected sealingly to connecting profiles 1 for keder 5, clamping-plate screw connections, which are comparatively much more complex to install, are not required.

FIG. 16 shows an air dome for two tennis courts in a view toward the side, which extends along the longitudinal sides of the tennis courts. As a special feature it is constructed with a window front. This consists here of a framework of window frame profiles 15 to 18 and is assembled on the building lot, wherein the lowermost row, for example, is equipped with transparent plastic films, so-called ETFE films, which are equipped all around with keder seams and only have to be inserted into the window frame profiles 15 to 18. As a variant, other transparent or translucent films or firm or bendable plates of the same kind can be installed in place of ETFE films, which are preferably equipped at their edges with keders for the mounting. Transparent or translucent films, i.e. ETFE films, plastic films or membrane films, which can bulge outwards are suitable for flexible or bendable window fronts. In place of film material, however, also transparent or translucent, or firm or bendable plates can be installed, such as glass plates, acrylic panels, acrylic multi-wall sheets, polycarbonate plates, polycarbonate multi-wall sheets or plates or multi-wall plate slates from polyester or plexiglass. Finally, the window fronts can be provided with panels from wood materials, such as those in the form of louver roller blinds or in the form of swiveling or sliding shutters, so that the window fronts are covered outside as needed. The height of the lowermost row of windows here is about 5.2 meters, and the width of these windows is 5 meters. They are thus almost square in shape. If further intermediate struts are used, it is also possible to fit shatterproof window glass. As FIG. 11 shows, the two profile struts 18 are first set up steeply at the outer ends and left standing loosely. To these is attached from the ground upward the respectively outermost film web 8 of the assembled membrane by a keder connection. From the upper end of these outermost profile struts 18, the film web 8 still runs loosely and rests in the middle on the ground, and at the other end it is again connected in the same way to the loose outermost profile 18 there. It extends here over approximately 42 meters.

From the situation as represented in FIG. 17, the membrane, otherwise anchored, in the direction perpendicular to the plane of the drawing film, in the conventional way on both sides to the ground tightly and in a force-locked manner, which is also attached at the rear end in the same way as here at such a window front, is inflated by activating the blowers and blowing air into the interior. It begins to inflate and rises. In doing so, the outermost struts 18 gradually take up the positions as shown in FIG. 18, and they are then firmly connected to the upper corners of the existing profile wall and also anchored to the ground. The upper struts 19 are thereafter installed as shown in FIG. 16 and as soon as the outer edges of the outermost film strips 8 reach this height, these edges are fastened along the upper edges 19 of the profile front by inserting keder connecting profiles. Thereby the membrane is gradually sealed better and better until it is completely sealed all around with its edges to the ground or to the profile fronts 19.

FIG. 19 shows this tennis hall in a floor plan, with the two spanned tennis courts having their court markings 20 and nets 21 drawn in. The hall thus has a square floor plan with a side length of 36 meters. The window fronts extend along the longitudinal sides of the tennis courts, so that they are hit far less with balls than, for example, the transverse sides to the tennis courts.

FIG. 20 shows a tennis hall for three tennis courts. Again, the 36-meter long window front extends along the longitudinal sides of the tennis courts, as can be seen from the floor plan in FIG. 21, and the sides of the air dome, where the membrane reaches down to the ground, then measures 53.9 meters. FIG. 22 shows the profile wall of this tennis hall with the formed windows 5 meter wide and 9 meter high, and FIG. 23 shows this tennis hall in a bird's eye view. Unlike conventional air dome, this hall has a barrel-shaped roof that extends steadily to the ground on all sides, not a dome with a zenith.

FIG. 24 shows a further embodiment, here first with the help of the floor plan. It is designed for two tennis courts and measures 36 m×36 m. In FIG. 25 it is shown in a view from that side, which runs along the head sides of the tennis courts, wherein the networks 21 of the tennis courts are drawn in inside the hall. On the left and right, this air dome has vertical 3.5 m-high end surfaces having windows, from the upper edge of which the membrane is attached laterally with its keders to the profiles 16. From profile 16 onward, the membrane then rises at an oblique angle, up to the 9 m-high ridge. FIG. 26 shows this air dome as seen toward a window front. The individual windows are 5 m long and 3.5 m high, and the outermost ones are almost equilateral triangles, and the entire window front measures 36 m in length.

FIG. 27 shows this tennis hall in a perspective view and gives a better idea of the advantages of such a window front for the ambience. In the example shown, the frame for the windows is still braced toward the outside with the struts 25 arranged at an oblique angle in order to absorb the increased internal pressure. The fact that conventional air dome prevent optical communication with the outside world is often perceived as a serious disadvantage of such a tennis hall and is accepted only reluctantly by the public. A tennis air dome with a continuous window front on both sides is flooded with daylight and offers an incomparable playing atmosphere compared to a conventional tennis air dome. From the outside, the air dome appears lighter and stylistically more convincing, less voluminous and more dynamic. Finally, FIG. 28 shows the view over a tennis court from the inside to the outside.

In summary, such an air dome offers an entire range of compelling technical advantages over conventional constructions.

-   1. Enormously better heat insulation of the air dome by convection     of the radiant heat at the heat-reflective mats. -   2. Greatly improved noise damping improves the feeling of well-being     inside. -   3. Continuous window fronts on one or two sides allow daylight to     flood the air dome, which significantly improves the ambiance. -   4. The simple handling with keders 5 insertable into connecting     profiles 1 simplifies the mounting of the air dome enormously. Far     less personnel is necessary for it, for the constructing as well as     for the dismantling. The work can be carried out by 4 assemblers,     instead of 20 assemblers. The simple handling significantly reduces     the assembly time. Costs can thereby be saved. -   5. The membranes or membrane strips 8 of the air dome can be easily     dismantled in spring and rolled up on rollers, making them very easy     to store compared to a conventional air dome. -   6. The assembly requires no special tools. The connecting profiles     can be pushed over the keder by hand. No clamping plates to be     screwed are required. -   7. The strip foundations 23 can be manufactured in the factory as     prefabricated concrete elements and be transported to the     construction site completely finished with inserted anchor rails and     prepared insulation connections and be laid there. -   8. The strip foundations are equipped with connecting profiles 1 as     anchor profile rails 22, so that for the ground attachment of the     film strips 8 only the end-side keders 5 have to be inserted into     the connecting profiles 1. -   9. No concrete work is necessary on site.

Numerical Index

-   -   1 Connecting profile for keder     -   2 Tubes for forming grooves     -   3 Connection bridge     -   4 Longitudinal slot in connecting profile 1     -   5 Keder     -   6 Keder extensions     -   7 Flaps at the film edge     -   8 Film web     -   9 Edge section of film 10 around rubber profile 11     -   10 Film adjacent to rubber profile 11     -   11 Circular rubber profile     -   12 Pocket on film web 8     -   13 Heat-reflective mat     -   14 Velcro fastener for closing pocket 12     -   15 Frame profile at bottom of window     -   16 Frame profile at top of window     -   17 Frame profile vertically at the window     -   18 Obliquely angled frame profile at the outer end     -   19 The uppermost struts along the membrane     -   20 Court lines tennis court     -   21 Tennis net     -   22 Anchor profile rail     -   23 Concrete strip foundation     -   24 End flaps membrane strip     -   25 Struts to absorb the internal pressure at the window front 

1.-17. (canceled)
 18. An air dome comprising one or several membrane shells from textile-reinforced plastic film material, at least one longitudinal or transverse side a frame construction, running along a plane on at least one longitudinal or transverse side without supporting struts projecting inward laterally from this plane, which is connected to a bordering membrane material, which is sealingly connected due to an internal pressure of a curved membrane material by at least one keder connection running along the frame construction, and in a frame profile at least one transparent or translucent film or a firm or bendable plate of the same kind is incorporated, for forming a level window front in an otherwise all-over arched membrane shell.
 19. The air dome according to claim 18, wherein the transparent or translucent film is an ethylene tetrafluorethylene (ETFE) film, a plastic film or a membrane film.
 20. The air dome according to claim 18, wherein the firm or bendable plate is one of a glass plate, an acrylic panel, an acrylic multi-wall sheet, a polycarbonate plate, a polycarbonate multi-wall sheet or plate and/or multi-wall plate slate from polyester or plexiglass.
 21. The air dome according to claim 18, wherein the windows are coverable from the outside by paneling from wood materials in the form of louver roller blinds or in the form of swiveling or sliding shutters as needed.
 22. The air dome according to claim 18, further comprising at least one longitudinal or transverse side of a frame construction with a frame profile along a strip foundation, at least one horizontal frame profile running thereabove having a groove on its upper side, for inserting a keder of an film web adjacent above, and a groove on its underside for inserting the keder at a transparent or translucent film adjacent below or a solid or flexible plate of the same kind, as well as having vertical frame profiles as braces, having grooves on both sides for inserting the keder into the lateral edges of the transparent or translucent film or the solid or flexible plate of the same kind, as well as that on both end sides of the thus erected window front obliquely arranged supporting struts are built in, having sided grooves on both sides for inserting the keder of the internally adjacent window film and the externally adjacent film webs.
 23. The air dome according to claim 18, wherein the outside and the inside membrane is constructed from membrane strips, which along their longitudinal edges are connected in a force-locked manner by means of at least one keder to a keder connection profile having a keder mount profile.
 24. The air dome according to claim 23, wherein the outer and inner membranes is constructed of membrane strips, which are each designed to be two-ply, wherein one ply forms the outer membrane and the other ply the inner membrane, wherein these membranes are heat-sealed all around and are equipped on at least a longitudinal side with a keder, so that a plurality of membrane strips are connected along their longitudinal side to the keder in a force-locked manner by means of a keder connection profile having a keder mounting profile.
 25. The air dome according to claim 23, wherein the membrane strips are interconnected such that respectively the longitudinal edge of a membrane strip is connected to a keder, and the edge region of the membrane strip adjacent thereto encloses this keder overlappingly, and one or several keder connection profiles having keder mounts are pushed over the keder.
 26. The air dome according to claim 23, wherein the outside and inside membrane is constructed from the membrane strip spanning the entire hall, which are connected along their longitudinal edges by at least one keder to a keder profile in a force-locked manner, and wherein the membrane strips in their end regions, 50 cm to 100 cm from the end, have a keder running transversely to the membrane strip, by means of which they are anchored to an anchor rail by keder connection profile with keder mount profile, and the flap formed between keder and end membrane strip is folded inwards into the hall on the ground.
 27. The air dome according to claim 23, further comprising double-ply membrane strips each form a pocket in which one or several heat-reflecting mats are inserted in a pocket-filling manner.
 28. The air dome according to claim 27, further comprising several layers of absorption-reducing bubble films are incorporated into the heat-reflective mat for reducing the transmission heat losses.
 29. The air dome according to claim 23, wherein the outside and the inside membrane are constructed from membrane strips, which mutually overlap along their longitudinal edges to a certain extent, so that also the heat-reflective mats inserted into them overlap to a certain extent and the hall, as far as it consists of a membrane, is enclosed end-to-end by a heat-reflective mat.
 30. The air dome according to claim 23, wherein the keder connection profile having keder mount profile has grooves on the side opposing the keder version profile or in the two side walls for hooking in objects like lighting fixture, nets, curtains, intermediate walls etc.
 31. The air dome according to claim 23, wherein the at least one membrane is equipped on the entire surface of the underside with juxtaposed flat pockets which are heat-sealed on, bonded to, sewn on, or riveted on, each of which is designed to be open on one side, for inserting a multi-ply heat-reflective mat in the form of a hybrid insulating mat with infrared-reflecting metallized film or aluminum foils, wherein these openings each are closable by means of a Velcro fastener or a zip fastener.
 32. The air dome according to claim 23, wherein the film measure 3 to 5 meters in width and correspond in their length to the span of the air dome to be erected, so that a seamless roof membrane is creatable over its entire length.
 33. The air dome according to claim 18, further comprising membrane strips are perforated for the inside of the air dome to effect a sound refraction and thus improve sound acoustics inside the hall.
 34. The air dome according to claim 18, further comprising along the boundary of its floor plan on prefabricated, precast concrete strip foundations, which are embedded in sections in a trench surrounding the air dome and on whose upper side a Halfen profile with an upward opening is mounted, and in that anchor profiles having the keder of the membrane inserted into their receiving groove can be swiveled with their lower shoulders into the opening of this Halfen profile and can therein be hooked to its opening edges, for a force-locked connection of the membrane to the precast concrete strip foundation. 